Coverage and public debate in the Madeleine and Isabella cases: media enchainment through blogs, Twitter and mass media

Abstract

Based on Thornton’s media typology (mass media, niche media and micromedia), this paper proposes and discusses the concepts of media in- formation mix and media enchainment. In order to evaluate the impact of digital interfaces, especially blogs and microblogs (Twitter), in the processes of news circulation and debate, an empirical investigation was conducted on the coverage and debates about the Madeleine McCann and Isabella Nardoni cases. Based on these data, the contemporary media structure technology-mediated social interactions are discussed.